The First Meeting
by TapewormDMC
Summary: The first time Credo ever met the rebelious young man, he was nothing but a little street rat struggling to get by... CHAPTER THREE UP NOAW! w00tness
1. The Warrior and the Street Rat

The Begining

Summary: This story started when my friend and I were looking through some Devil May Cry websites, and we realized that it is never actually _stated _how/when/where Kyrie and Credo met Nero. All we could find was that he was an orphan that they had found. With those tidbits of info, we got to work on a story.

Disclaimer: DO. NOT. OWN. Capcom does, lucky bastards.

--

Never one to be full of pride, it was odd for me to be beaming with the emotion. I looked at the letter again, my eyes wide with excitement as I made my way down Main Street's sidewalk.

_Credo,_

_You have been accepted for evaluation and training of The Order of the Sword. We congradulate you in this accomplishment, succeeding against all odds, winning over your class-mates at the tender age of 15. We of The Order could not be more proud._

_Your training will start in a week. Be prepared, young one, for your life awaits._

_-Gabriel, Order Official_

I couldn't help but grin ear-to-ear. My life long goal was about to be accomplished! I would finally become a member of the Holy Knights! My father, had the man still been alive, would be so proud of me, as would my mother be when I got home. My mind wandered to my 9 year old sister and what she would think of it. Kyrie never was one for violence but the sweet little girl would probably still be proud of her big brother. She was proud of everything I did.

I was so lost in my own joyful thoughts, I never noticed the fast approaching footsteps behind me...

...untill something metal crashed into the back of my knee. I cried out as my legs gave way and I fell. I felt my head connect with conrete and stars flashed before my eyes. What the hell just hit me? I could hear nervous shuffling as my attacker knelt down beside me, apparently thinking I had blacked out. A tug at my pant's pocket quickly answered my question. A street rat apparently saw me to be a good target. Well, the bastard was about to be proven otherwise...

I windmill kicked to my feat, a loud yelp emiting from my attacker. '_This rat'll think twice about attacking me.'_ I thought, taking a fighting stance...only to see no one. I looked around, my attacker nowhere to be seen. A whimper at my feat caught my attention. I looked down, and was greeted by the bright blue eyes of a 6 year old...with a golf club. I could not help but stare at the boy, dumbfounded. He was small for his age, his skin pale and his hair white as snow. He would have looked like an upperclass family's kid, had he not been dressed in a ratty T-shirt and jeans that seemed two sizes too big. An overall cute kid, if not a little scrawny. The little pickpocket looked around, as if making sure no one had seen what he did, before turning on his heels and running. It must have been reflexes that forced me to snatch the collar of his shirt. He attempted to swing at me, but I simply grabbed his little fist. The kid was so tiny...

"Let go of me, you turd!" the boy screeched. I glared at him, tightening my hold on his hand.

"You know, boy, you should learn to better respect your elders." I said sternly. The boy only glared, attempting to tug his hand free. It didn't work.

"Okay." he said "Please let go of me." he growled those last words with malice. I smiled before releasing his hand. He pulled away quickly and backed away from me, glaring daggers my way. Suddenly, a loud gurgling growl erupted from his gut, and I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Had the kid been trying to get money for food? Judging by his size and the growl of his stomach, it was likely.

"So, where do you live?" I asked him before mentally slapping myself. The kid wouldn't be hanging around this alley if he actually lived in a house! Nor would he be stealing money from people.

"I don't live nowhere." he said simply, stating what was, to me, the obvious.

"Do you have any form of shelter?" I asked. He shook his head and I sighed.

"Where are your parents?" I asked him. The boy cringed at the word 'parents'

" They left...and they're not coming back. The bad things got to them, and they left." he said, his voice changing dramaticly from what it once was. It was sad, much sadder than it was before, and deffinatly much sadder than any 6 year old's voice should be. He looked away from me, not saying another word. Bad things...demons perhaps? Whatever the "bad things" where, they must have killed or taken his parents.

"Well.." I said, kneeling down and trying to steer the conversation to something else. "Do you need food?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to take your damn charity." the boy said, his snappy tone returning. I quickly slapped his wrist.

"You shouldn't talk like that." I said. The boy growled, not saying a word. I reached into my pocket. Even if the kid said he didn't want anything, I was going to givehim money regardless. I pulled out a ten dollar bill and attempted to hand it to him. "Take this." I said.

"No!" the boy said "I said I don't need your goddamn money!" he batted my hand away, money and all. I scowled before standing up strait. This was only the second refusal, and I had already had enough. This boy's smart-ass attitude was starting to grate-away my nerves far too much.

"Fine." I growled, standing. If the kid was going to be stubborn, let him. I looked at him one last time before walking away. Yet I could not help but feel bad as I looked back over my shoulder, seeing the boy walking back into the alley from wence he came, gripping is stomach in hunger. There was no way he would accept money from me...but maybe if he found it. I looked at the money in my hand. He would probably take a ten dollar bill if he found it lying on the ground.

Without a word, I walked to the alley entrance, dropped the money, and walked away. I looked back after walking a few yards and saw a head of white hair poke out of the alley entrance. The little street rat walked out, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and picked up the money. He retreated back into the alley and I smiled. I had a feeling I would meet this kid again. As I walked away, I stopped as I realized something-

I never asked the boy his name.

--

Yeah, first chapter. It sucks, I know, but this is my first attempt at EVER writing a fanfic so go easy on me. I tried to keep Nero (even though his name's not mentioned, I'm sure you all know who the boy is) and Credo in character by making Credo serious and Nero all stuborn and stuff.

Reveiw?


	2. Dissrespect

I'm so sorry for the delay everyone! A lot of stuff has been going on Offline and Online. Offline, my final exams are coming up, my cat had kittens, my laptop crashed and I've been having to use my mother's horribly slow computer. I've I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter D:

Also, as a warning, this computer's keyboard hate's "D"s, so if there are any missing "D"'s in words, blame that.

Another thing, this chapter may be confusing without knowing the layout of what I immagine to be Credo an Kyrie's house, so I'll explain here cause I'm just that lazy. Okay, you have the front door, which opens into the living room. There is a wide archway leading into the dining room, nothing more (meaning that one could almost consider the living and dining rooms one and the same) To the left of the dining room, there is a door leading into the kitchen. Go strait through the kitchen and there is another door leading into a hallway which leads to the bedrooms (Kyrie's, Credo's, and Parent's). I don't really picture them having a very big house at this point in their lives. Yeah, it sounds complicated, but it's not if you can picture it. But I stink at explaining stuff.

One more thing and I'll shut up! This has not been proofread or anything, so it may be worse than the first chapter. But thank you all for the kind reveiws.

--

I dug through my pockets, searching for the keys to my house. Apparently, my mother nor Kyrie were not home, or they were too preocupied to open the door. I dug in my back pocket...nothing. I reached into my breast pocket...still nothing! I grumbled as I once again knocked on the door.

"Mom! Kyrie! Is anyone home?!" I yelled. I banged on the door again, when I suddenly heard someone call out from behind me.

"Credo!" I turned around and saw a blur of auburn, brown, and white; Kyrie was running at me full speed with a large brown bag in her arms.

"Kyrie! Where were you?" I asked. She sat the bag down and bent over, gasping for breath.

"I...had...to go...with mom to...get groceries..." she panted. She stood up strait, still breathing heavely, as she dusted off her white T-shirt. I smiled at her, in my mind debating on whether I should show her my acceptance letter or not, but I decided it would be best to wait untill our mother was home. Speaking of mother...

"Where's Mom?" I asked her as she pulled her own house keys out of her pant's pocket. Both I and Kyrie had our own spare house keys. Mother had a habit of running errands during the day and since she trusted us, she had given both of us spares in case we wanted to go out. She was rather paranoid about burgulars, so we had to lock the door when we went out.

"She went to visit dad." she said, unlocking the door and allowing her and myself entrance into the house.

"Did she get the right flowers?" I asked. Before his death, Father always loved the sight of the iris, for it reminded him of mother. Everytime we went to his grave, we would bring bundles of lovely little flower to rest on his gravestone. However, the last time we had gotten flowers, Mother's failing eyesight cause her to grab a bundle of lilies by accident.

"Yeah, I made sure this time." Kyrie laughed. I followed her through the living room, into the dining room. She sat the grocery bag down on the table as we both sat down. My stomach began growling loudly and I hoped she brought some easy-to-cook food. Sudenly, my mind wandered to the boy. That tiny boy with the snow-white hair...I wondered how he was doing. I was pretty sure he had used the money he had "found" for food; his stomach was growling like a rabid dog when I met him. Maybe I could go back and visit- a knock at the door interupted my thoughts. "I'll get it." Kyrie said, standing up and walking out of the dining room. I heard her open the front door, greeting our guest with a cheerful hello. I didn't find much interest in the fact that we had a guest. Unlike Kyrie who was a social little flower, I was always the quiet one prefering not to interact with people unless necessary. This guest, however, would prove to be quite different.

"Hi." an all too familiar voice spoke up. My eyes widened and I turned around, facing the living room. Kyrie's body was blocking my view of the visitor, but I could tell that it was a young boy. This could not be, it _was_ not who I thought it was, and yet that bratty voice was unmistakable. But there was no reason for that street rat to come here, or so I thought. "I'm looking for someone named Credo. You see-" I heard jingling "-I found these, and they had that name on them, and this address, so I assumed they belong to someone here." Okay, that renewed all doubt I had that this visitor was _him_. This kid was way too polite to Kyrie. If it was the rat, he would have already smart-mouthed her...and gotten slapped.

"Yes, these are definatly Credo's house keys." I heard Kyrie giggle. "Thank you for returning them." she said.

"No prob." the boy said. They talked for a bit, nothing more than idle chit-chat. Loosing interest, I stopped listening untill I heard Kyrie invite the kid inside for something to drink.

"Yes, please." he said. Kyrie let out another little laugh. A small smile graced my lips. I loved hearing her laugh; it let me know she was happy, and if my dear little sister was happy, so was I. I listened to their conversation as the pair made their way toward the dining room. By this time, I had already turned back around, facing away from the front door, so I still had yet to get a better veiw of the visitor.

"So, what's your name?"

"Nero."

"That's an unusual name. I think I've heard it before somewhere though..."

"It means black in some other language. Well, that's what I was told, anyway."

I heard Kyrie giggle again, "That can't be it. You're nearly albino! Even your hair's white." Okay, that was it. I had to see this kid, for how many white haired _children_ did you see on a daily basis? I turned around, and was met by an_...expected surprise,_ if you will. Somehow, I knew it was him, but his politeness to Kyrie just didn't seem like something the little guy was capable of.

But there he was, still wearing those ratty, baggy clothes, his white hair hanging in messy strands infront of his azure eyes; the street rat was back. We looked at eachother at the same time, and almost emmediatly, his eyes narrowed to that same look of loathing they held earlier.

"So," I said, deciding to speak first, "Your name is Nero, huh?"

"So," he said, immitating me, "Your name is Credo, huh?" he smirked arrogantly.

"You two know eachother?" Kyrie butted in.

"You can say that." Nero said, not taking his eyes from me.

"We've met." I said, and our hateful staring contest continued. In my mind, I was laughing at just how evil this kid could look, but my stern expression remained. After all, I had to try and look threatening, no matter how bad I was failing; I just couldn't keep that hint of a smirk from my face. After another minute of glaring daggers, Kyrie broke the silence.

"So...uh, who wants tea?" she asked nervously.

"Me." Nero said, still not taking his eyes off me. I, on the other hand, decided to look at Kyrie.

"I would rather not have any." I said politely. It was strange, really. I felt an almost competetive need to be more polite than Nero. So far, I was doing good.

"Okay, so just one glass?" Kyrie asked. Nero nodded. "Well, Nero, why don't you come into the kitchen with me?" she said sweetly, _'Before you kill _eachother' was the unspoken statement.

"Okay..." Nero mumbled. Both children walked to the kitchen, but just as he was going through the door, Nero did something that got my blood boiling:

He gave me _the finger_! That disrespectful little brat flipped me off over his shoulder! I could handle him cussing like a sailor, but when he basicly tells me to _fuck off_, that's when I get mad!

"Credo!" I was so angry, I didn't even notice my mother walk through the door untill she called my name. I turned to her, my anger replaced with the pride I had earlier as my eyes glimmered happily. I dug in my pocket for the note. My angry thoughts about the little white rat would have to wait. I had to show mother the Order acceptance letter; I was eager to see her proud face.

Once that was done, then I would plot my revenge.

--

There you have it. Chapter two. I just thought it would be cute to have Nero be all polite and sweet to Kyrie, but then have him be a complete an utter asshole to Credo. XD

Next chapter will be better, I promise. :(


	3. Rain rain, Go away

Thank you all so much for the kind reveiws!! I can't thak you enough :D

Next chappie! This one is rather boring, so sorry about that. Next chapter will revel some stuff about Nero's 'parents' though :D

Chapter 3 "Rain, rain, go away..."

--

"CREDO, HONEY, I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!" I felt my mother crush my spine for the second time in one hug. Painfully loving, that's always how my mother has been. My mother wasn't big; she was muscular, but not big. It was a surprise just how painful her hugs could be. I should have known that once I showed her the letter, I would be crushed. I heard Kyrie run into the living room, her house shoes making a quiet 'patpat' on the carpet.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Kyrie, your brother's going to be one of the Holy Knights!" Mother exclaimed loudly squeezing me once more before letting go. Kyrie put her hands over her mouth in shock, her eyes going as wide as dinner plates. I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck; I really should have told her sooner. I looked at Mother, a sheepish smile still on my face, when I was suddenly hit with the full force of an excited 9-year-old. Kyrie gave my waist a squeez, her excitement fueling her tiny muscles enough to cut off all circulation to my lower body. She was speaking so fast I could barely understand her.

"OhmygoodnessCredoI'msohappyforyouweneedtothrowapartyfo-"

"Kyrie slow down!"

"Oh. Right, sorry." she giggled nervously, a light pink blush forming on her cheeks. "As I was saying, we need to throw a party to celebrate. I mean, it's not everyday a member of the family gets into the Order's knights." she laughed.

"A party?" a voice spoke up from behind us, accompanyed by the sound of ice sloshing around in a glass. _Damn you, Nero, go away._ I thought. This was a family matter; he was an outsider. I would have told him to go away right then an there, but Mother spoke before I could.

"Oh, hello." she said, turning to the little boy.

"Hi." he said shyly, taking a sip from his iced tea. _Putting on the innocent face, I see._ If there was one thing little Nero was good at, it was looking cute and innocent.

"What's your name?" Mother asked sweetly. Nero smiled, his expression like sugar _Dammit kid, stop the playing! You're not fooling anyone!_ I thought, but he obviously was; I was just in denial.

"Nero." he said, dragging out the 'e' sound, adding to his "cute little kid" facade. He took another sip of his tea. Mother smiled warmly at him.

"Well, Nero, make yourself at home, dear." she said

"Thank you, ma'am." Nero said with a slight bow. I stared at him, shocked. This kid just kept surprising me more and more with each action. Only a couple of hours ago, I couldn't even begin to immagine him being polite to anyone, and now he was not only being polite, but showing immense respect to my mother and Kyrie. It was almost funny...but not quite.

"Well, now that you have met Nero, Mother," I said, "I beleive it should be time for him to go." I tried to hide the growl in my voice. Nero looked at me, his eyes wide for a second before going back to their narrowed state. I really wanted him to leave. Just something about this kid rubbed me the wrong way.

"But Brother!" Kyrie said suddenly. I looked at her, and was met by a large pair of puppy dog eyes. "Can't he stay a bit lon-"

"It's raining." Nero spoke up suddenly.

"Huh?" I looked out the window. Indeed, it was raining, almost storming. This confused me, for it had been sunny and nice outside when I got home. But then, again, Fortuna weather had a habit of changing in the blink of an eye, so this was normal for us. Mother, Kyrie, nor I was shocked by this, but Nero seemed oddly uncomfortable about it.

"When'd it start doing that?" she asked.

"A little while ago." Mother said, "It started pouring down on my way home." she took a quick glance outside as a lightning bolt flicked through the sky.

"It's not that bad yet." I said calmly. Nero was standing behind me, but something seemed...idifferent/i about his air. It was tense; it seemed as if he was ready to run from something at any second now. Thunder followed the lightning, a rolling rumble signaling the start of a rather serious storm...and the start of Nero's shaking and trembling. That's when it hit me, and I couldn't help but smirk in an uncharasticaly evil fashion. Nero was afraid of storms! This was too perfect! Just what I was waiting for- a momment of weakness from the little brat.

"What's wrong Nero?" I asked, feigning concern. "Afraid of the thunderstorm?"

"No." BOOM! More thunder. "I mean yes!" he yelped. I snickered and he gave me a look that just screamed "Go To Hell."

"Credo, don't be mean." Kyrie said with a minute giggle.

"Well, it's not like a little thunderstorm can hurt you, honey." Mother said in a kind voice.

"I-I know." Nero said, "But...thunderstorms remind me of...nevermind." he said, his voice cracking slightly. Another clash of thunder, and his muscles went rigid with fear. Quickly, he said "C-can I stay here? Please? Just for tonight?" he pleaded with Mother

"Won't your parents be worried?" Kyrie asked. Nero let out a tiny gasp, and his eyes took on a droopy, tired look. I once again caught myself feeling sorry for him. Neither Mother nor Kyrie knew about his parents.

"No..." he said simply "They wont." avoiding telling them the truth, he looked back at Mother, his eyes large and sad like a kicked puppy. This time, I knew he wasn't faking the look.

Needless to say, we made room for him on the living room couch; not even I could say no to those eyes. As much as I hated to admit it, I was reconsidering my plans for revenge. After all, he lived on the streets; the finger probably wasn't the worst thing he learned.

--rainraingoaway--

By midnight, the storm had picked up and the wind was howling outside. I sat in the living room, reading. A lamp was lit at my side, bright enough to illuminate the book, but not so bright that it woke the now sleeping Nero, who lay snuggled up under a light blue blanket on the couch. I lazily skimmed through the book, reading about the various demons and monsters inhabiting Hell and occasianally invading the normal world. I felt that immature, brotherly urge to pick on Nero some more, but I had to get this stuff memorized. It was officially Saturday, and I had a test on these demons Monday, so I had to get some studdying done. I stiffled a yawn, my eyelids growing heavy. Maybe pulling an all-nighter to studdy wasn't such a good idea...

"Mmph...go away." a weak voice spoke up from the couch. I looked at Nero, who had turned over, burying his face in the back of the couch. "Don't touch her-leave us the hell alone..." I sighed. Kid must have been having a nightmare. About what, I had no idea, and honestly didn't care. It was normal for children his age to have nightmares. I ignored him, continuing with my book as he tossed and turned, knotting the blanket around him. Still, I couldn't help but notice how pained his expression was; brow furrowed, eyes clinched shut, teeth gritted.

What happened next surprised me: He screamed, loud and painful as if injured. At that point, I could no longer ignore him. "Nero!" I yelled, standing up. He screamed again, his breath hitching as he tried to yell out a word. He began a violent coughing fit as I knelt down beside him. "Nero." I called again, but he still seemed to not notice me. I was vaguely aware of the patting noise of Kyrie's house shoes.

"What's wrong?" I heard my sister's voice, squeeky with fatigue and fear. I turned to look at her worried eyes as Nero's coughing died down. She clutched a stuffed bunny tightly to her chest, her pastel pink nightgown dragging the ground as she walked. By now, Nero had stopped screaming, and was simply whimpering like a scared dog. Tiny crystaline tears began forming at the edges of his eyes as sweat beads formed on his face.

"I...I guess he was having a nightmare." I said, standing up. Kyrie stepped closer to the couch.

"Poor thing. It had to have been bad, whatever it was about." she said, placing a hand on Nero's pale forehead. "He woke me up with his screaming." she smiled shyly "I'm wide awake now. It'll be a while before I can go back to sleep."

"It's alright. You can stay in here with him; make sure he doesn't start screaming like that again." I said. It was then that Kyrie spied the book in my hand.

"Credo, don't tell me you've been in here all night studying!" she said. "You need sleep! You don't get nearly enough!" I grimaced. She was worried about me; It was true that I hadn't been getting decent sleep, or even eating that much for that matter due to my determination. I wanted to make Mother proud, and one way I did so was by keeping my grades up putting my studies past my own personal needs. Meeting Nero was the first time I'd been interested in anything but my books and schoolwork in a long time. Perhaps that was something I should thank him for...

"If it makes you feel any better," I said, "I'm going to bed right now. Good night." she didn't beleive me, but I really was going to go to bed. I was exhuasted, my eyes and brain aching from the studdying, my ears ringing from Nero's screams. I was ready to just go to my room, flop down on the bed, and pass out.

Just as I turned the corner into the kitchen, I heard a quiet, weak voice in the living room. It was Nero and, judging by his tone, he was still sleep-talking.

"Mom..._please wake up_..."

--

Somewhat of a cliffie. Yes, next chapter will reveal Nero's past.

ALSO: I have not gotten a chance to reread this chapter and it was rushed. So, for those of you who read it, don't be surprised to find it deleted the next day if I find a major screw up in it, which I probably will.

Ugh, it's 12:04 a.m. and I still have a Neopets adoption application to work on (Luvaina FTW) Well, R&R plz?


End file.
